A survey published in Health Affairs has found that few surgeons know the costs of the devices they are implanting, including devices like the DePuy ASR hip replacement. Of the 503 physicians who took the survey, only 21% were within 20% of the correct price of devices, despite more than 80% saying it is important for surgeons to know what devices cost.

More than 285,000 hip replacement surgeries took place in the United States in 2012, a 25% increase over the past five years. The increase occurred despite the number of failing metal-on-metal hip replacements, such as the BioMet M2A Magnum hip replacement.

According to court documents, there are nearly 400 Stryker hip replacement claims pending in federal court in Minnesota. The federal consolidation was formed only six months ago and legal experts believe that additional lawsuits against hip manufacturers Stryker Corporation are to be expected.

Metal-on-metal hip replacement manufacturer Stryker Corporation will pay $13.2 million to settle lawsuits alleging that the company bribed doctors and governments in five different countries. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Stryker with masking bribes to Poland, Argentina, Greece, Mexico and Romania as “charitable donations.”

The British National Health Agency (NHA) has banned metal-on-metal hip replacements of all kinds, including the BioMet M2A Magnum. The decision came after a study showed that there was a failure rate of nearly 4 out of 10 among patients fitted with the implants at NHA hospitals.

BioMet Inc. will acquire Lanx Inc. in the attempt to break into the spinal surgery device market. BioMet is one of the primary manufacturers in the surgical device market, and manufactured the controversial BioMet M2a Magnum hip replacement.